Hundreds of protesters have gathered in Thailand’s capital to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra amid growing anger over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Demonstrators took to the streets on Saturday, outraged by a June 15 conversation in which Paetongtarn urged Hun Sen – the current Cambodian Senate president who still wields considerable influence in his country – not to listen to “the other side” in Thailand, including an outspoken Thai army general who she said “just wants to look cool”.
The army commander was in charge of an area where a border clash last month led to one Cambodian soldier being killed. The man was killed on May 28 following an armed confrontation in a contested area.
The leaked phone call with Hun Sen was at the heart of Saturday’s protest and has set off a string of investigations in Thailand that could lead to Paetongtarn’s removal.
Protesters held national flags and signs as they occupied parts of the streets around the Victory Monument in central Bangkok. At a huge stage set up at the monument, speakers expressed their love for Thailand following the intensified border dispute.
Many of the leading figures in the protest were familiar faces from a group popularly known as Yellow Shirts, whose clothing colour indicates loyalty to the Thai monarchy. They are longtime foes of Paetongtarn’s father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who reportedly has a close relationship with Hun Sen.
Yellow Shirts rallies turned violent and led to military coups in 2006 and 2014, which respectively ousted the elected governments of Thaksin and Paetongtarn’s aunt, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Hun Sen on Saturday promised to protect his country’s territory from foreign invaders and condemned what he called an attack by Thai forces last month.
At a 74th anniversary celebration of the foundation of his long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party, Hun Sen claimed the action by the Thai army when it engaged Cambodian forces was illegal.
He said the skirmish inside Cambodian territory was a serious violation of country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, despite Cambodia’s goodwill in attempting to resolve the border issue.
“This poor Cambodia has suffered from foreign invasion, war, and genocide, been surrounded and isolated and insulted in the past but now Cambodia has risen on an equal face with other countries. We need peace, friendship, cooperation, and development the most, and we have no politics and no unfriendly stance with any nation,” Hun Sen said in an address to thousands of party members at the event in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.
There is a long history of territorial disputes between the countries. Thailand is still rattled by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded Cambodia the disputed territory where the historic Preah Vihear temple stands. There were sporadic though serious clashes there in 2011. The ruling from the UN court was reaffirmed in 2013, when Yingluck was prime minister.
The scandal has broken Paetongtarn’s fragile coalition government, costing her Pheu Thai Party the loss of its biggest partner, the Bhumjaithai Party.
The departure of Bhumjaithai left the 10-party coalition with 255 seats, just above the majority of the 500-seat house.
Paetongtarn also faces investigations by the Constitutional Court and the national anticorruption agency. Their decisions could lead to her removal from office.
Sarote Phuengrampan, secretary-general of the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, said on Wednesday that his agency is investigating Paetongtarn for a serious breach of ethics over the Hun Sen phone call. He did not give a possible timeline for a decision.
Reports said the Constitutional Court can suspend Paetongtarn from duty pending the investigation and could decide as early as next week whether it will take the case. The prime minister said on Tuesday she is not worried and is ready to give evidence to support her case.
“It was clear from the phone call that I had nothing to gain from it, and I also didn’t cause any damage to the country,” she said.
The court last year removed her predecessor from Pheu Thai over a breach of ethics.
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